Eternal Darkness
by atrieisan
Summary: Haseo wakes to find himself in his 3rd form, and yet he is not in  The World . As he struggles to find the answers, there are some things uncovered, that he wish he hadn't found out.
1. Eternal Darkness

Hack GU Eternal Darkness

by ~Atrieisan

.Hack/G.U.  
Presents  
Eternal Darkness

Chapter 1:

Waking up in pitch darkness; scents that burn the nose and eyes, leaving one coughing in hopes for fresher air; the rattling of chains dragging upon the sleek, concrete floor, and the sting of needles prickling through the skin.  
Ryou Misaki lay upon the floor, half curled up in a ball of agony. He couldn't remember a thing since who knows when… All he could remember was the sudden blow given to the back of his head within a dimly lit room. It reminded him of where criminals were interrogated before their trials commenced, or the few occasions where he had been in there for some form of violation, whether it had been smashing the neighbor's window or…  
His thoughts were cut off by the sudden sting of pain pulsing from his right arm.  
He gripped it tightly, gritting his teeth, before his fingers realized what was sticking into him. Squinting through the dark he attempted to make out the features of the IV that lead up into the dim above. The room wasn't lit with any lights, and no windows were visible to give relief from the darkness that consumed him within the confines he couldn't make out.  
The lights flickered on in their sudden florescent glow, forcing him to shut his eyes less be blinded by the sudden impact. He could hear the sounds of footsteps clacking upon the tile floor across the room, followed by the indistinguishable chatter that filled the room with unpleasant noise.  
Eventually adjusting, he opened his eyes enough to glimpse around him; his mouth agape with shock. He cried out in great confusion, pulling against the chains that bound him to the floor, watching through the bars at the white clothed figures whose voices seemed to drone on in slow mo. He couldn't make out what they were saying.  
They simply approached the cell calmly, some with discerning expressions before everything began to fade to black once more; his eyes unable to remain open much longer before drifting off into dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Did you give him the sedative?" An older man raised his eyes from the microscope. His expression seemed a bit displeased as he frowned up at a young woman in about her mid 20's.  
"Yes, seems he's still easily distressed…" She gave a sigh and sat down next to him, rummaging through the files upon her clipboard, "Though his aggression level is unchanged as well…. Hansley won't be happy if we don't get something done about it soon Marshall…."  
He gave a mild smirk and turned to adjust the scope once more before scribbling down a few notes.  
"Well, it is technically your subject isn't it? Or should I say pet?" He chuckled half heartedly, but it was obvious that the joke was unappreciated. Her cheeks puffed in a fuming hiss.  
"For the last time, it's not a pet! You know that yourself Mr. Roderick!" She continued to fume, pushing her stool back, to stand half looming over the other.  
He held up his hands as if waving a white flag of surrender.  
"Alright, Alright, you win Sarah…. No need to get so worked up…" He turned, looking off towards the door leading into the other room, "Just how long has it been now?" He gave a meek attempt at changing the subject.  
She paused slightly, giving the question some thought.  
"I'd say it's been about six months since we first acquired 65."  
"That long already huh?"  
"So it would seem…." She turned to walk out of the room, "I'll go check on his stats…. The sedatives occasionally have negative effects…."  
She picked up her clipboard and left the room, Marshall watching her go, his hand running through his short brown hair; lost in thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryou flinched upon the soft touch of fingers running down his cheek. His eyes opened drowsily to look up into a face he thought must have been in his dream. Her purple eyes, half hidden under the shock of silvery, grey bangs.  
"Shhh…. Shi…. Shino….." His words blurred into a gurgled groan. His body was starting to feel sore once again.  
Sarah stood up calmly, pulling out a syringe from within a pocket of her lab coat and with a quick fill, injected it into the IV line connected to his shoulder.  
He winced unappreciatively, a mild growl slipping through his lips as he attempted to curl up into a ball once more.  
His mind was still reeling. He couldn't make out half of the images that played through his head nor the situation he was in. He turned his head to look out at his outstretched hand upon the floor, realizing that his fingers were covered in the glistening gold claws and black leather of his 3rd form. He blinked, unsure of what he was seeing was reality or not.  
'Am I in "The World"...?'  
His focus returned back to the figure of "Shino" that sat upon her haunches, her hand gently stroking his hair. The same familiar half smile, half sigh of sorrow looking down at him.  
He tried to raise his hand to touch her cheek, but found himself cut off by the sudden yank of the chains keeping him to the ground.  
'What is going on here? Why am I restrained like this? Where am I?'  
He tugged against the chain with a growl, the armored tail that jutted forth from between his shoulders giving a sound smack upon the ground. His head turned to look up at her in desperation. But to his dismay, she had backed off, standing a few feet off, disappointment spreading across her face.  
"Shino!" He cried out in slight dismay and desperation that he couldn't get up or understand her reaction. But all that could be heard from his lips was a wailing "Nrowl".  
The door across the room clicked open as another figure entered the vicinity. He wandered over to her calmly, his eyes scanning down at the figure of Ryou Misaki lying upon the floor, thrashing about in angered cries.  
"Marshall?"  
"You shouldn't let yourself become so careless around him Sarah. What if it happened to lash out at you before you had a chance to react?"  
Ryou bared his teeth, revealing his fangs in a snarl, "Why would I try to hurt Shino! And why are you calling her Sarah?"  
He lifted his chest from the floor in attempts to get up and emphasize his yelling. But it still echoed out in screeching wails and hissing snarls resulting in the two figures to back up further.  
"I suggest we let him calm down for a bit, wouldn't you agree Sarah?" Marshall turned to his companion, giving a glance or two at the misunderstood Ryou before closing the door to the cage.  
Sarah stood before the bars for a moment longer, muttering something under her breath before turning to follow her co-worker out of the room, the lights flickering off once more; the room settling back into the dim, dark silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryou pulled himself up to sit wearily upon the floor, holding his left hand over his face.  
'What is happening? Why is Shino being called Sarah? Is this some hidden file in "The World"…. Or…or is this… Reality?'  
He couldn't really tell. All of this was so unusual, so strange. There were so many unanswered questions, and it seemed as if no one could understand him at all when he asked. The only thing he could tell that was real was the continuous aching pain that pulsed throughout his body; a pain that would soon be like a torrent of inexplicable torture.

'Where am I….? What's happening to me…?'  
These thoughts continued to spiral within his mind as he attempted to pace the small quarters of the cell. However, vision impaired by the dark that loomed throughout the room left little room for success, followed by the short reign of the chains clasped to his wrist and ankles and the consistent whacking of his nose upon running into the walls. But it didn't matter to him at the moment; he was restless with uncertainty and confusion.  
His claws clicked upon the concrete floor of the cage with every step until they came to a rest as his body settled itself down upon the ground once more. He couldn't tell what time it was, other than that everything felt as if it was frozen, unmoving and unwilling to change.  
It felt like it had been hours of endless silence within the gloomy dim. Just lying there wishing for something else to occur to distract him or bring about some form of mindless interest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The flickering of lights piercing through the bars caused him to stir. Raising his head to cast an uneasy glance about the room, his eyes still half closed with sleep. He gave out an exhausted yawn and attempted to raise himself to get a better look at what was going on.  
Several people meandered about the room, fiddling with small instruments or scrolling through piles of paper; each distinctly wearing the same, uniform white coat that hung down to their knees. Yet in the midst of all the different figures weaving between the counters, Ryou caught a glimpse of "Shino" in the back, her eyes following the flow of text upon a screen. Her back was to him, but her appearance was unmistakable as his beloved Shino.  
He pulled himself up onto his haunches in attempts to approach the bars. But upon touching them he found himself shot back against the far wall, his entire body steaming in pain. His swears and curses flooded the room in the sound of frantic, irritable screeching.  
Sarah turned round in her chair, her eyes following many others within the room that landed upon the sight of the severely agitated 65 thrashing about within his cage.  
One of the members wandered over to a monitor upon the wall, typing in random digits as if it seemed of much importance, but it was of little interest to Ryou. He was too busy cursing at the waves of pain that surged through his system from the electrical shock.  
The man turned from the monitor to look over at the rest of the crowd who had paused from their work to view the spectacle.  
"It would seem that someone set the circuit level above normal. May I ask whom?" The male's scorn caused the group to frown in unison followed by an awkward silence that was only filled by the hissing cries from the cell.  
Marshall raised himself from his seat in a mild mannered sigh as the others turned to look at him.  
"My apologizes, I raised the level a bit yesterday evening… considering that its aggression level was rather high."  
The man's frown creased further across his face.  
"You know damned well that this machine is designed to keep 'Roku Juu Go' at bay even at its lowest setting. There is no need to turn it up, and you shall not do so again? Am I clear Mr. Roderick?"  
Marshall bowed his head in submission, "Yes sir, Mr. Hansley…"  
Ryou had begun to calmhimself enough to listen to the conversation brewing about the room; his eyes scanning the situation, running over the figures of Marshall and Mr. Hansley.

'It looks like Mr. Hansley is the boss around here….. But what is 'Roku Juu Go?' or this 65 they keep talking about….?'  
His trail of thought was cut off by the older of the two figures approaching the cell. Ryou's fangs instinctively barred themselves at the stranger as his body slinked further back towards the far wall.  
"Now, now, 'Roku Juu Go', there's no need to be so testy…. That won't happen again, alright?" Mr. Hansley smiled through the bars at Ryou. But his smile seemed like a false reassurance as if an undertone within the man's voice threatened to beat Ryou down with an iron bar.  
He rose himself to his feet, looking back over at the rest of the crew.  
"Alright, enough lollygagging, let's get back to work shall we?" The same grin greeted the others with the same snarl hidden beneath the furls of his lips. The others turned back to the business in hopes that they would not have to stare down the lion's throat any longer.

Boredom continued to overwhelm Ryou as he lay upon the floor of the cage, staring at the ceiling; his barbed, armored tail flicking to the side slightly as if swatting invisible flies.  
It was after about three agonizing hours of tormenting silence other than the rustling of papers or the clicking of Ryou's claws grinding against the stone floor that a rush of movement stirred from the door upon the far side of the room. He raised his head to look over at the unusual activity.  
It looked as if a bomb squad had just entered the vicinity. Over a dozen men, every inch of them covered in armored padding, carrying the thick plastic shields that were wielded by police operatives as if they were preparing to disperse a riot. The doors held open wide as they filed in with impressive order. Ryou stared in bewildered awe at the large faction.  
Sarah turned and walked past the mass of new arrivals, approaching the cage in her usual calm. Ryou's attention turned to look up at her as she came within three feet of the cage, her fingers tapping the keypad upon the wall. Slowly she lowered herself down to sit upon her heels as her hands reached forth and unlatched the lock upon the door. Ryou raised his head in attempts to speak to her, but she had once again backed off just as a surge of armored men swarmed up to him.  
"Nani!" Ryou's yelp spiked through the air in a screech as four pairs of hands pinned him to the floor.  
He squirmed and screamed at them, attempting to lash out uselessly with his claws. His armored tail swung round, knocking two of the men off as he then brought his free fist around to make contact with the closest face he could see. His hand was stopped short by the chains that bound him to the floor, leaving his claws just inches from one of the soldier's faces. Once again pounced upon by four other men; his limbs tied behind him as he continued to thrash.  
"DAMN IT YOU BASTARDS! LET ME GO!" Ryou hissed, a vicious snarl steaming through his bared fangs.  
The last available weapon he had left to his defense was his teeth as he twisted and writhed under the pressure of so many restrictive hands binding him down. His fangs sinking into one pair of hands that would soon pull back, only to replaced by another. The squalling hisses and snarling ruckus continued on and on for several minutes.  
One of the men straddled his shoulders, pulling off his kerchief and yanking it back against Ryou's open jaws. The thrashing became wilder as Ryou squirmed in attempts to breathe and get away from the swarm of humanoid figures strangling him. But he could feel himself slowly growing more and more exhausted.  
"Toss that muzzle over here!" A female voice rang out within the midst of the confusion.  
'Shino?'  
Ryou blinked slightly, pausing to look up for the source of the voice; giving the squad enough time to strap the metal contraption over his nose and mouth. Caught off guard he returned to attempting to fight off the mass of strangers that held him down, but it was inevitably obvious that he had lost, he refused to accept it.  
Sarah stepped through the crowd once more to stand over Ryou's restrained form. He lay there, almost completely out of breath, yet still thrashing here and there in attempts to shake free from his captors. However, upon seeing her, all movement ceased. His gaze traveled up from the ground to meet her deep amethyst eyes where it remained in complete silence.  
She lowered herself upon her haunches, her hand reaching into the folds of her lab coat. Her gaze remained upon the entranced crimson eyes of Ryou Misaki. It wasn't until a sudden prick upon his neck that the gaze was broken; his body jolted back in surprise before crumpling down upon himself in complete exhaustion. He lay there, still following her movements as she pocketed the previously concealed syringe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything seemed to blur together in a nauseating spiral, all playing in slow-mo. The droning voices continued as he could barely feel himself being dragged down brightly lit hallways. He couldn't understand anything anyone was saying, he just wished it would cease back into silence.


	2. We Are Not Who We Think We Are

.Hack/G.U.

Eternal Darkness

Ch 2

We're Not Who

We Think We Are…

Ryou awoke from the darkness that had overtaken him; giving a small groan as he pulled himself up to his knees to take a look around. His head still felt as if it had been in a haze….. clouded out and unable to remember….. His eyes scanning the area in hopes for minor recognition of his surroundings…. But there was none to come….

The room was much larger than the cell he had been in before the incident…. His mind paused from its curiosity of the room to the vague flickers of what occurred, who knows how long ago… It could have been days by now for all he knew….. but his mind couldn't take itself off of her face… Syringe in hand as she backed away, leaving him to the mercy of the armored men….

"Shi…..nn…. no…?"

He grit his teeth in bitter frustration as he mustered up what strength he had to remember just exactly what had happened…. However a strange voice echoing out broke him from his chain of thought, whirling around defensively.

"Yo~ Haseo…~" The cunning voice echoed out from the second room beside his own, separated by a thick glass panel with holes cut into the upper trim for circulation.

Ryou paused in mid growl, eyeing the chamber through the glass, searching for the source of the voice that called out his PC name. Yet the room was full of so much foliage that there was no sign of the speaker.

"Up here silly~" The voice chuckled as Ryou's eyes scanned upwards towards a low hanging branch.

In the unraveling of giant, semi florescent leaves that floated outwards, they circled around their centerpiece of a young male figure standing upside down upon the branch, his long teal colored hair wrapped around the branch, almost tail like…. Ryou could of sworn that the end of it twitched every now and again as he stared up at the strange creature… Slowly coming into recognition…

"Ku….Kuhn….."

The figure gave a mild grin as he swiveled around to sit upon the branch, the long bundle of hair unraveling itself from its coils, the end curling upwards like a content puppy.

"I never would of guessed that you'd wake up too…"

Ryou paused for a moment, watching the familiar figure give a sigh, his words rambling on like some form of riddle he didn't understand…

"Wake up….? You mean from those injections?"

Tonomari's expression dimmed into a more solemn cloud as he watched his friend through the glass wall.

"So…. you don't have a clue huh…" The floating leaves around his body gave a turn in mid air, floating in the air in the opposite direction.

"Clue about what exactly…..?"

"About what's happening… About who we…. really are….."

Ryou gave a minor snarl towards the comment causing a few heads from the figures outside the enclosures to look up from their work for a moment.

"I know who I am!" Ryou bared his fangs up at the older male who in return continued to stare him down with the same serious expression…..

"But do you really Haseo…..?" Tonomari's chocolate brown eyes looked down upon the thorny devil like figure of Ryou Misaki with an unwavering hush of stillness that just sent prickles down his spine.

"What about yourself ya damned flirting womanizer?"

There was a short pause of silence between them as their gazes continued to remain fixed on the other.

"To start with…. I've never actually flirted with any woman….. nor have I physically met anyone to flirt with…"

"Like hell you haven't…" Ryou rolled his eyes, blowing the comment off.

"Then have you met anyone like that?"

"Pft….. Kuhn…. You're a flirt even at school…"

Tonomari gave another sigh as his mind ran over other possibilities to bring the subject to light to where his irritable friend could understand him.

"Haseo….. when was the last time you ever remember the feel of a controller in your hand….. or an MD2 in front of your eyes?"

Ryou's face went blank for a moment as he attempted to remember the last time he had picked up a controller and logged into [The World]….. nothing seemed to come to the forefront of his mind… then again he couldn't remember just how long he'd been in this god awful place…. His form having taken on that of his 3rd form Adept Rogue…..

After another moment of silence… nothing but the sound of a ticking clock in another room did Tonomari speak once more….. A break in the ice hit as he watched the puzzled expression of his friend.

"[The World]…. doesn't exist Haseo… We've never played such a game…. nor….have we lived the lives we think we have…." He gave a sigh before continuing on with his words, hoping that he could at least get part of it, "It was an illusion….. False memories implanted into our minds while we lay dormant….. just like them….."

Tonomari's hand raised itself up to point over at the front of their cells, revealing a scene of horror Ryou wished he hadn't laid eyes on. The distorted figures of bodies lined up in large vats upon the walls, some writhing around in agony, others seeming completely lifeless…. Floating there within the dim waters…..

"Are we who we think we are…. No… I sadly do not think so… As to what I think I am….. is another question entirely…"

Ryou, attempted to avert his gaze from the painful scene and return them towards the oasis like appearance of his friend's tank.

"Then who or what are we then….?"

"We are but lab rats to them….. experimental figures laid out in test tubes over and over again….. only those that are strong enough to survive the first stages… wake up and become like us….. …. To them…. I am just 42….. and you….. you're just 65…."

The scribbling of a pen followed after a soothing hum from the female scientist; jotting down notes here and there before raising her head to notice the male figure standing next to her.

"Section B wanted me to inform you that the move in wasn't as smooth as expected….." He rubbed the back of his head feeling a bit uncomfortable about the matter, expecting her to yell at him as she usually did.

"Then what may I ask is the problem this time Marshall?" Sarah frowned, resting the pen down upon the clipboard to turn her attention towards him.

He gave a sigh, "65's been pitching a fit at the neighboring cell….. I think it was a bit early to move him into close quarters with the others… They're concerned it's going to cause all the other subjects to freak out if he doesn't calm down…."

There was a drawn out pause between the two of them before either of them could muster up another word. When the silence was broken, it did not burst with angered screams or cursing winds, but in a soft sigh.

"So he's still not sociable with neighbors… is that it?"

He nodded, grateful that she hadn't broken out into a yell at him like some of the other times that occurred.

Sarah gave another sight before she handed her clipboard to him.

"I'll go check on him and see what there is to do about it….. For now… you can go check up on the piranha….."

Her smirk echoed into the very back of his head with the mentioning of the words…

"p..pp….p… piranha…. b-b….. but I….I…. hate fish….." He stammered in protest, but his coworker had already left the room on her way to section B.

Ryou sat back upon the hard floor, tapping his claws against the armored shell over one of his knees. His face twisted up in a sour expression as he attempted to make sense of all these scenarios that did or did not exist.

Tonomari eyed him from time to time, curled up around the branch he hung from. He didn't believe it was all true himself when he'd found out himself; recoiling back into the leaflets that floated about him. In time he knew his thorned companion would have to admit to himself that this was no dream or false reality… Whether or not Haseo took it as well as himself however, was the question of concern.

Sarah sighed as she pushed her way through the large doors into Section B, gazing through the crowds of people and other things; her eyes came to rest upon the figures of 65 and 42 within their cells. Both growling and making gestures towards the other through the thick glass that separated them.

She sighed once more, moving a strand of hair behind her ear, "Seems like he might be right…."

Her concentration was broken from the two experiments upon the thrusting of documents in her way, the fingers holding the papers leading up to an older male as he smiled calmly over her shoulder.

"You forgot these back in your office." He smiled once more, pushing his orange tinted glasses back up to their resting place.

She frowned, accepting the documents with no words for quarrel and began to turn towards her destination once more before he called out.

"Furthermore, from your data readings, you should try introducing new things to him. It'll lower his frustration level." He gave a mild grin, turning back and walking through the doors before she had a chance to respond to him.

"….. Why does he always have to meddle with everything everyone's doing….. honestly…" Sarah muttered under her breath, giving an offended huff.

Tonomari raised his head in a perk of interest as he scanned the room outside his cell. His change of attention in turn perked Ryou's interest, turning to give a quick glance upon the white coated men and women outside. His crimson eyes caught sight of the glimpse of silver hair weaving through the crowd.

"S…s…Shino!" Ryou called out, his mind already having left the thoughts of what was real or not.

"She can't hear you Haseo…" Tonomari sighed, resting his chin in his hand as one of his emerald eyes looked over at him.

Ryou shot him a nasty look, his tail giving a stubborn flick, "It's not like I'm whispering damn it…."

"That's not what I meant. She can't understand anything you say…. We just sound like beasts to them…" He sighed once, more, turning his gaze back towards the silver haired female that was making her way towards them, "Looks like they're going to be moving you again too….."

Ryou gave a pause, his eyes turning towards his friend, then back out through the glass. A grimace started to form upon his face at the thought of those armored men swarming him again, but tried to turn his mind towards the other half of Tonomari's words.

"In other words…. I have to find another way of communicating with her, that doesn't involve dialect?"

The leaves swiveled around him before he nodded in an answer towards Ryou's words. His posture turning more towards a guarding stance than his composed, carefree self, "Have fun with that. For now…. Just take care of yourself, alright Haseo…?"

"It's Ryou damn it…."

"You know that's not your real name…." He sighed, "I'm just 42, and your just 65…"

Ryou had barely blinked once before the figure of his companion had disappeared from view, having dashed back up into the higher branches and out of sight. His gaze then turned to see the source of Kuhn's panic, to find himself seeing the same bomb squad like team filling into the room. He could merely grimace, knowing what was to come.


	3. A New Design

.Hack/G.U.

Eternal Darkness

Ch 3

Eyes struggling to open in the dim, his body shifting before giving a painful wince, curling up again within the confines of his small cell. His vision fading in and out of blindness as he attempted to focus on what lay within the dim. He could barely make out his surroundings just beyond the cell bars; a metal table in the center of the room and the faint smell of blood and antiseptic lingered in the air. He squinted.

Dark….. everything was so dark…

All he wanted to do was sleep, but the searing pain that ran along his body like a wild fire kept him from the sanctity that was unconsciousness. Ryou cursed under his breath as he attempted to roll over, finding the action to give little comfort. He opened his eyes once more, straining to see his surroundings, before nearly being blinded by a bright light.

He jolted back, his crimson gaze staring down at the neon orange light before him, flickering like fire. However, he quickly found himself keeling over in agony, his form curling up into a fetal ball. He held himself there for what seemed like forever before gaining the strength to raise his head towards the light. He paused for a moment, eyeing the source of the flame as it resonated within the dim of the cell.

….. If only it was closer….

He reached a clawed hand out towards it, as if attempting to catch the source of the light within his palm. And as if by command, the light moved closer, followed by two more. He blinked, seeming confused as to where they were all coming from, questions bubbling up in the back of his mind as he reached out to grasp one of the lights.

It was hard, and sharp, like a dagger within his hand. The flames licking around between his fingers radiating with a comforting light and warmth he hadn't expected. It did not burn, despite the signs that it could, it gave no attempt to harm him. It was in that understanding that he realized something else. Upon having grasped the flame, he could feel the sensation of his fingers touching it. The feeling wove itself around and down to his spine with an oddly familiar tingle. Then, as if by command, the other lights flickered and shifted upwards and around in languid circles. Hit by this realization, he sat up, watching the lights flicker around, occasionally tapping the concrete floor.

"No way…."

It wasn't some magic light source, or floating fire. But three jagged, twisting and winding tails that flicked before him. The representation of an old nightmare filled with fire. The fire of burning hate he'd had towards Ovan upon the death of Atoli…

…..Atoli…. Would she ever forgive him for turning into such a beast...? …. No…. none of that… actually happened… now did it…? Was it…. Really all just a dream…? Something made up by human intervention…..?

He sighed to himself in frustration, unsure of what to believe. Everything was all muddled up into one big ball of confusion. Once again overcome with the desire to sleep and get away from the pain that lingered in his body and mind, to fade from existence. Curling up upon the hard floor in attempts to sleep away the pain.

"Sarah, please rethink this…. Is this really worth risking your job….?" Marshall gasped, attempting to keep up with his fast paced partner.

"I told them not to go through with it! And they did so anyways!" Sarah fumed as she strided through the busy halls, brushing passed wary and surprised faces of coworkers, "I will not put up with it I tell you! Aesthetic changes are useless and can jeopardize everything we worked for!"

She continued to rant as she made her way through the halls, causing some of the other lab workers to quickly scuttle out of the way as she passed. Marshall quickly following her heels with a nervous expression on his face.

"Even though the procedure was successful…?" He piped up in attempts to improve her mood. However, it seemed he'd just added fuel to the fire as she whirled round, absolutely steaming.

"Successful or not, it is my say that determines these kinds of procedures! And if you had something to do with this Marshall I swear!" She hissed, her steely amethyst gaze staring him down like an angry bull.

Marshall yiped and slunk back like a punished dog, prodding his forefingers together as he lowered his gaze. He soon realized however, that his submissive actions in attempts to appease her were in vain as she had continued down the hall.

"Sarah… You realize there's nothing that can be done now that it is done," A voice chimed in, stopping Sarah in her tracks. She turned to confront the voice of the male standing off in the shade of a side hall.

Dark eyes behind orange glasses returned her stare, a clever smirk hidden behind a calm gaze. Yet not hidden enough to evade Sarah's, a scowl turning over her lips as her stomach felt as if it was twisting.

"You had something to do with this...didn't you…?"

He simply smiled as his form leaned back casually against the wall, his hands slipping into his coat pockets, "Now really? You know I work better with plants than animals, why would I possibly have anything to do with that pet of yours?"

Sarah's scowl seemed to only intensify as she prepared to retort, before she was cut off by her partner.

"It was Hansley, Sarah…. He insisted in an upgrade despite the attempts to tell him otherwise," Marshall sighed, lowering his gaze as he rubbed the back of his head. The very name uttered caused the three lab workers to shudder as if an ill omen had been placed upon them. Sarah simply grit her teeth before turning on her heels, stomping off down the hallway. Marshall grimaced in turn, turning his head towards his coworker.

"I guess we'll go over the fungi lab results later, Ovan?"

The male simply shrugged, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, an action that simply signified a lack of interest towards the subject. Sighing at this, Marshall just turned and wandered down the hall after Sarah.

Ryou winced as the familiar irritating ring of the florescent lights bore into his skull. The three recently acquired tails wound themselves closer to his body as he attempted to shield his eyes from the intensity of the white lights. He only parted them slightly to look up towards the sound of pounding footsteps and undecipherable shouting.

Sarah entered the room with a sour look upon her face, mostly settling her gaze upon the now clearly visible work table that lay within the center of the room. A sigh escaping her lips as she pulled out a pair of gloves, slipping them on with a snap of the plastic, a sound that caused Ryou to shudder slightly.

"They can't even clean up properly….. geeze I don't get paid enough for this crap…." She sighed once more, pulling the trashcan out into view as she began to wash down the metal surface, the water running red. It was enough of a scent to pull the chimera out of his dozing feeling like he was going to purge. The sheer mixture of old blood, sweat, alcohol and many other pleasantries was enough to nearly send Ryou over the edge.

Sarah raised her head from her work towards the sounds of the coughing and gagging chimera, her expression turning from sour to disappointed surprise.

"And they left you in here? Honestly… Am I the only one who does my job right?"

She frowned once more, slapping the towel down upon the table and meandering over towards the cage door. Her form crouching down onto her haunches, she then peered in through the bars.

"Good to see you're still breathing though. Guess I'm gonna have to call the code to get you moved, now aren't I?" She gave a soft smile towards the chimera, watching him for a moment.

Ryou watched her gaze in turn, his mind once again reeling over the thoughts that had been plaguing him since he spoke with Kuhn. …We just sound like beasts to them…..

He huffed slightly, knowing there was no chance of him being able to communicate with her verbally. But he felt as if he just had to get something through to her….. But how…..?

He rubbed sleep from one of his eyes. He grumbled once more, shifting slightly in attempts to make himself more comfortable upon the floor. He still felt sore from what they had done to him.

Hesitantly, he reached a clawed hand towards the bars, wary of any current that would send him teetering across the cell in more pain than he already was in. Then before reaching the bars, his crimson gaze reached hers in a lingering silence, his fingers drawing back. Lowering his head, he slunk back into a corner of the cell.

"I…I'm… not…" He mumbled under his breath, seeming a bit ashamed with himself. His form slumping down upon the floor and resting his head upon his claws, his crimson gaze searching her for answers he wouldn't get.

Sarah sighed once more, running her hand down along the bars, a solemn expression upon her face.

"People don't seem to realize just how important you are…"

Ryou blinked, raising his head as he focused on the words she spoke, as if every word held the balance of his very sanity. His three tails gave a pensive sway.

She then rose giving him one last soft smile before turning to fiddle with her pager. For some reason, Ryou seemed to know what this meant. He was about to be moved again. Lowering his head back down upon his claws he waited for the inevitable.

Swirling emotions pounded within the mind as sweat rolled down pale cheeks. Emerald eyes shifted nervously about, the wary gaze viewing the scene that played out beyond the glass. The movements of white coated figures paced about with their routines until being quickly disrupted with the loud scree of iron doors; the crowd scattering off to the sides of the room.

The shifting sounds of foliage were barely noticed as the figure of the plant based chimera made its way towards the glass to get a better look at the scene. Armored men hoisted a large black box through the room, heaving with heavy breaths with every step. The chimera could only grimace at the scene knowing what lay within.

"It's rather bothersome, isn't it?" The calm yet icy words that made their way through the glass caused Kuhn to jump, his gaze coming down upon the figure of Ovan.

The male stood there, leaning up against the wall of the cell, pushing his orange tinted glasses up the bridge of his nose. His own gaze was aimed towards the crowd as it made its way through the main lab.

"The more they move that thing, the more unstable it gets…. Sooner or later it'll be unusable…" If not for the mask he seemed to wear, a scowl would have been visible upon his lips.

Kuhn paused, shifting his gaze between the man and scene that played just outside the walls. An uncertain erm escaping him as he found himself lost in thought. Mostly uncertain with what this one 'white coat' was mumbling. It was in that moment, that the male turned, his stern gaze focused in on the chimera with such intensity that it caused Kuhn to yelp and shrink back into the bushes.

"And you will help me with this, won't you Shi-ju-ni?"

The words hit him like a dagger to his throat, as if a hidden threat had been whispered under Ovan's breath. He nodded slightly in turn, biting his thumb to keep himself from yelping once more.

"W….w….What do you wish... of me….?" The chimera cursed at himself mentally as he spoke in a clearly audible voice. Even if only spoken at a whisper, it was enough to get a smirk out of the man's face….


End file.
